Real Life
by A Chocolate Frog
Summary: Charlie and Claire catch up after a long, busy day. Fluff. Rating just to be safe.


_This technically isn't canon, since it would take place somewhere during season 4 if Aaron is three months old, but it isn't really all that important to the story. To heck with canon anyways...there's no joy in my life if I can't write about Charlie like he's alive. (Okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic. But just a little.) Enjoy..._

_Disclaimer: I don't own LOST or any of the characters or places associated with it. The song "Catch a Falling Star" belongs to Perry Como._

_**Real Life**_

"_Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket,_

_Never let it fade away._

_Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket,_

_Save it for a rainy day."_

Claire rocked her son back and forth as she sang to him. She could see how tired he was, but he just wouldn't go to sleep. "Come on, Aaron," she murmured as his eyelids drooped. "Sleep for your mum." But his eyes opened, and Claire sighed and started singing again.

"_For love may come and tap you on the shoulder_

_Some starless night._

_Just in case you feel you wanna hold her,_

_You'll have a pocketful of starlight._

_Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket,_

_Never let it fade away._

_Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket,_

_Save it for a rainy day."_

Finally! His eyes closed for good and his breathing deepened. Aaron was finally, truly asleep. Claire carefully bent down and placed him in his cradle, singing the last line to herself.

"_Save it for a rainy day."_

"Beautiful," said a voice from behind her, and she jumped a foot in the air. She turned around to see Charlie leaning against a tent pole, grinning mischievously.

"Charlie!" she exclaimed. "You scared me half to death! How long have you been standing there?"

"Since the second verse," he said calmly. "I was enjoying it."

"It's just an old lullaby my father used to sing," she said, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "When he was around," she mumbled bitterly.

"What?"

Claire shook her head. "Nothing. Sorry you had to hear me singing."

Charlie laughed as he stepped into the tent and slipped an arm around her waist. "I'm not. You've got a lovely voice."

"Sure, whatever," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I mean it," he insisted. "Trust me, Claire. I'm a musician."

"Don't try to play the rock star card on me."

"I'm not. I said I was a musician. Rock stars aren't necessarily musicians. There's a big difference," Charlie said.

"Okay," she laughed. "My mistake." She took his hand and led him across the tent to the bed. They both sat down, smiling at each other.

"Hi," Charlie said after a minute.

"Hi," Claire replied.

"I missed you today," he said.

"You saw me this morning," she reminded him. "We had breakfast together."

"I know." He scooted closer and wrapped his arm around her again. "I missed you anyways."

Claire chuckled. "You know what? I missed you too."

"Aaron sure was sleepy tonight. Did you two have a busy day?" Charlie asked.

"I guess we did," she said. "Sun watched him while I went for a walk, and then we played for a little while after I came back, and then he had his nap while I ate lunch. Rose watched him while Sun and I did some laundry, and then we played some more. I took him down to the ocean and let him feel the waves on his toes."

Charlie smiled. "Did he like it?"

"He loved it! Lots of kicking and giggling. So what did you do all day?"

"I helped Jin mend some of his fishing nets, and then I spent the rest of the day helping Hurley find more fruit, since the kitchen was running kind of low. I guess he still sort of feels in charge of the food supplies. We had to go pretty far away. We've eaten up most of the fruit near the beach."

"Mmm," Claire said absently, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Your hair smells good," Charlie said, twisting a strand of it around his finger.

"Thanks." She looked up at him and brushed the shaggy bangs off his forehead. "Yours is getting long again. We should cut it tomorrow, if Sawyer will let me use his scissors."

"Okay."

Aaron made a small noise, and Claire looked anxiously toward his cradle, but he stayed asleep. She shook her head slightly, as if in disbelief. From the expression in her eyes, Charlie could tell she was thinking hard.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

She thought a minute more and then looked back at him. "Do you ever have trouble believing this is real life?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Our whole life here on the island is completely ridiculous. Aaron is three months old and he's never worn clothes, never worn a real nappy. He's never had a bottle or a pacifier or even been inside a real building. I spent my day washing clothes in the ocean while you mended fishing nets and went fruit picking in the jungle so we could have enough food to eat. We're living on a beach in a tent made of sticks and a tarp with a bed made out of an airplane seat while the entire civilized world thinks we're dead." She shook her head again. "Sometimes I just have trouble believing it's all real. Nobody in their wildest dreams would ever imagine the life we've got here."

"I know what you mean," Charlie said. He thought a moment and then continued, "But I guess life is always like that, to some extent. Sure, six months ago I never would have imagined my plane would crash on a weird island in the middle of nowhere, but six years ago I never would have imagined my band would release a number-one album and tour the world. Sometimes that didn't seem like it was real life either. And I'm guessing you never expected to wind up pregnant at twenty-two."

"Not in a million years. There were certainly times when I _wished_ that wasn't real life."

"But it turned out to be a good thing, yeah? You've got Aaron."

Claire smiled. "Yeah."

"So even as unreal as our lives seem right now, I guess we've just got to take them one day at a time and see what happens tomorrow."

"When did you get so philosophical?" she asked, kissing him softly.

"Philosophical? Nah. I just try to live in the moment," Charlie said, grinning. "And this happens to be a moment in which I'd like to do some living." He leaned forward and captured her lips in a long, lingering kiss.

"I like the way you think," she murmured as he pulled back. She brushed away the hair that had fallen into his eyes again. "You really need a haircut," she giggled.

"Haircut is tomorrow," he reminded her. "We're living right now." He cupped her chin in his hand and gently ran a calloused thumb over her smooth cheek, sending shivers up Claire's spine.

"Okay. Right now," she agreed, and her eyes fluttered closed as Charlie's hand slowly traveled up the side of her face and his fingers slid into her hair.

They leaned into each other, and their lips met in another, different kiss. This one was stronger and more sensual, almost hungry. Claire looped her arms around his neck, and she cautiously ran her tongue lightly across his bottom lip. He responded eagerly, pulling her even closer. The hand he had placed on her hip slid up to the hem of her T-shirt, and she moaned softly as he began to trace small circles against the warm skin of her lower back.

In the coming years when Charlie and Claire looked back on that evening, they were never able to say how long their moment lasted. Time seemed to stand still; all that mattered was this newfound state of perfect bliss. They held each other tightly, testing the boundaries, pushing the limits further than they had ever dared before.

Finally Claire pulled away, breathing hard, whispering, "Charlie, we've got to stop. Or at least slow down. I can guess where this is heading, and that's how I wound up with Aaron."

Charlie looked away and pulled his hand from beneath her shirt, realizing rather guiltily that it had traveled halfway up her back. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean to –"

She placed her hand on his cheek and turned his head back to face her. "It's not just you," she said with a smile. "I was enjoying myself quite a bit. I'm just not – ready to go any farther. We're still on an island in the middle of nowhere, and I can't afford to –" she threw half a glance toward the sleeping baby "– be in that situation again."

Charlie nodded. "Okay. I understand. You're completely right." He grinned sheepishly. "I'm glad one of us is thinking rationally."

"I didn't necessarily _want_ to be thinking rationally," Claire admitted. She kissed his lips lightly and whispered, "Someday we'll get there. I promise."

"Okay," he said. He yawned and quickly tried to stifle it. "Wow. Between you and Hurley, I guess I'm all worn out."

"Hurley?" she asked, arching an eyebrow playfully.

"Climbing fruit trees, love," he chuckled. "Picking mangoes. I save the kissing just for you." And he planted a kiss on her forehead, as if to prove his point.

"Good," she said, and then she yawned as well. "You're contagious, apparently."

"I guess we'd better hit the hay, then," he said, looking rather self-satisfied.

Claire rolled her eyes. "You just want to get all nice and cozy again."

Charlie affected a wounded look. "Fine. I'll just go out into the cold, dark night and find somewhere else to sleep," he said, starting to stand up.

"You don't have to be so dramatic," she laughed, grabbing his arm and pulling him back down. "And it's not cold. It's twenty-five degrees Celsius."

"So you'll let me stay?"

"I suppose so," she said teasingly. "If you promise to behave."

He sighed exaggeratedly. "I promise."

"All right, then."

They rearranged themselves so they were curled up together on the bed, both laying on their right sides. Charlie wrapped his arm snugly around Claire's waist, and she took his hand, twining their fingers together.

"Charlie?" she said after a few minutes.

"Hmm?" he asked, letting his lips brush the sensitive skin on the back of her neck.

She shivered pleasurably and squeezed his hand. "Charlie, you know what I said earlier about real life? I just realized that none of that matters. _This_ is what's real – you and me, right here, right now. All I need in real life is you and Aaron. We could be living on a whole other planet, and as long as I had you two, I'd be just fine."

"Exactly," he said. "Real life is wherever we're together."

Claire smiled as she snuggled into him, and Charlie kissed her neck again and held her more tightly. She sighed contentedly, and together they fell asleep, dreaming of what real life would bring them tomorrow.

-.-.-.-.-

_Please leave me a review!! Thanks!_

_-A Chocolate Frog_


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